Belgrade in the Rear View

Coming to Lisbon has made me realize how much I loved Belgrade. It was not as sunny, not as beautiful, and not as old as Lisbon but it had something that Lisbon doesn't, despite the fact that Serbians fully employed the typical European indifference sometimes bordering on downright anger. In fact one of the rudest people I’ve met in all my travels worked at the tourism office in Belgrade. When I asked if they had tours of the Serbian Parliament in English she went on a tirade about how the Serbian parliament was a place to work and not a tourist destination. I did my best to refrain from pointing out that the two are not mutually exclusive, that transparency in governing is a hallmark of successful democracies, and that an increase in tourism would likely inject much needed money into the economy giving the legislators in that very building the ability to pass more legislation that would benefit the Serbian people (and help get them reelected).

Anyway, when I said above that Lisbon is beautiful I mean Lisbon is really freaking beautiful. It’s taken me about an hour to write this sentence because I keep gazing out at the view from the rooftop restaurant I’m currently sitting at (see pictures below). You can't tell from these pictures but you look out and it’s just one thing right next to another – a charming café with an orange tree on a slanted cobblestone street next to a building with blue tile and wrought iron balconies next to a 12^th century church. Everywhere you look in downtown Lisbon is like that. Apparently even the H&M downtown has glass floors that reveal ancient ruins they found when they renovated it several years ago. The whole city is just one picturesque panoramic.

However, the city is not just full of scenic views but also full of tourists. Even locals have told us that it's now hard to find any portuguese people anywhere in the city center. I think the other thing about Lisbon - and hear me out - is that it's too beautiful. The views are all stunning and every day is sunny. There's too much to look at to the extent that it's distracting. Your eye is constantly being drawn in all directions and all you want to do is hang out on the riverfront or on a boat or on a rooftop bar. It's very hard to get anything done and I now know why Portugal's economy has been struggling. I wouldn't contribute much to the economy if I lived here either.

And maybe I'm more of a tree-lined, understated beauty kind of person - which Belgrade very much is. All that said Lisbon is THE perfect place to come on vacation. For a week and a half or two weeks it would be the perfect place to walk the cobblestone streets, hang out on the water, and drink lots of port. Plus I have yet to tour the former dictator's prison for his political adversaries. Maybe Lisbon's fascist past will make fall in love with it after all.